Fligth of the Huntress
by starspejd
Summary: The mightiest Huntress of them all, finds herself on the run. A dangerous mission just got a whole lot more dangerous and Samus is all alone, against a ship full of Pirates. All hope seems lost...


This is my first Metroid based fanfiction. It's a one-shot, which is rather uncharacteristic for me. I got the idea some time yesterday and here the finished product is. I know it's not perfect, but I like to think that it's pretty good. I've tried to add some feeling to the story, not as much what samus feels, but to make you feel. I'll be the first to admit, I'm a bit touched. But then again, I've been rather sentimental recently. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it. I won't dismiss the possibility of making more of those one-shots, Metroid or not, but I wouldn't count on it.

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**Flight of the Huntress**

She ran down the metallic hallway, panting for air. All around her she could hear her own footsteps, echoing against the cold, barren metal. Her visor had began to collect mist from her breathing; a breathing that grew more and more erratic for each step she took in this cold, dark, narrow hallway. She was alone – or so she wanted to be. But the truth was that her enemies were in hot pursuit. For once, the huntress – or hunter, as they called her – had become the hunted.

She turned around a corner and fell. Her leg had cramped up from all the running. Normally this would never have happened, but then again; normally her suit wouldn't be as damaged as it was. She tried to get up, but to no avail. Her leg was hurting too much. She looked around for a door or a crate; anything that might shelter her for a few minutes. But there was nothing of such in the tight hallway she had turned into. She had no choice but to turn back. An action she knew might condemn her.

She heard footsteps from the hallways behind her, some shouting in alien voices and she knew she had to act quickly. Summoning whatever strength she had left, she crawled back into the other hallway and got up. Supporting herself with her hand on the wall, she walked slowly down it, limping ever so slowly. She was sure she had seen a door somewhere down here. It was the only thought that kept her going. She wouldn't want to think about what she would do if it was all a fabrication.

As she made it to another corner, her head had become heavy and her thoughts clouded. She leaned against the wall, well knowing that each second she wasted was another second the Space Pirates used to close in on her. The woman took a deep breath and started the walk down the other, cold hall. Every hallway looked the same and Samus had now completely lost direction. Her blue eyes scanned the dark, metal hallways, but there was no sign of any doors.

Suddenly, an energy pellet flew right beside her head. Samus jerked around and her previous injuries shrieked in pain. She stumbled and only by sheer luck avoided the next blast. She landed hard on the floor and heard the Pirate run closer. She looked up, but her vision was all blurred. Quickly, while the adrenaline was still in her system, she moved her hand to her visor in order to change her visor. But instead of her heat seeking visor she got… nothing. The controls were broken.

Before she had time to react, another orange energy bullet came flying towards her. She rolled quickly and looked up, trying to see anything in the blur that was her field of vision. But all she saw was a black darkness, with a blurry edge of dark-blue metal. Then, something that looked like movement. She knew she had no choice and shot. An orange energy bullet flew from her arm-cannon, and hit the target spot on. It was a Space Pirate, and a regular one at that. To think that a simple pirate had gotten her by surprise!

While the Pirate was still stunned, Samus charged up her beam and fired, unleashing a larger energy blast at the now defenseless Pirate. The recoil was no more than usual, but in her weakened state it was still enough to make her arm bang into the wall, adding to her already impressive amount of injuries. When her head finally stopped spinning, she got up. The pirate was dead but she knew that it was only a matter of time before more would come. She had to find somewhere to hide long enough for her wounds to mend.

She took the way opposite to the Pirate and hurried all she could. The only good news about this mission was the fact that her leg no longer hurt and if it did, then the other injuries covered it up. She staggered on down the hall, clinging to the wall for support with every step she took. She tried to look ahead of her but her vision had faded even more than before. She knew this wasn't good. It wouldn't be long before the suit was out of energy and when that happened, it wouldn't be able to help keeping her alive.

She heard more footsteps coming from both sides. Samus knew that the game was over – the Pirates would surround her and kill her or worse. She sighed resigning and leaned against the wall, hoping to simply wait for them to claim her. But instead, the wall budged and swung open. Samus fell in backwards, too tired to even try to regain her balance. As she lay on the floor, the door closed again and the room engulfed her in a thick, deep darkness.

She had no idea how long she lay in the darkness. She caught herself dozing off on more than one occasion. She knew she could not sleep. Sleep would only invite death to claim her now frail body. She knew she had to keep herself awake, a task most difficult in her current condition. Her suit was badly damaged. Several places were inoperable and no longer offering any protection. The missile launcher in her arm cannon was destroyed and the same went for most of her visors. She tried to move her left hand to her arm cannon, but the task proved more strenuous than she first thought. Suddenly, the Pirate's vessel shook and Samus was knocked unconscious again.

In her sleep, memories of the mission passed by fleetingly, eluding her grasp. What she saw was bits and pieces, nothing that made sense. On moment she saw herself in open combat, the next she was safe in the Federation. Then she found herself on the brink of death, the hallway from what seemed like an eon ago, the next she was fighting for her life with a group of Federation soldiers, all new to combat. Suddenly, she was alone. The Federation Troops were dead and she was alone against an overwhelming army of Space Pirates. She had no choice but to flee, her suit was damaged enough as it was. She ran. Then; an explosion of pain.

Samus finally woke up from her nightmare, panting and groaning. She felt a little stronger than last she was awake, but knew it might be a trick from her mind. She pressed a button on her arm-cannon to bring up the Emergency Ship Display. Each press required a great deal of her strength, but she managed to get the display working. Her ship was in no better condition than herself; fractured, battered and broken. Even if she could somehow get to her ship, there was no chance of escaping the Pirates.

She sighed in resignation and felt weak. Her arms were laying down the side, powerless. This was the end. This mission would be the end of her. A small, colourless tear fell from her pale, blue eyes. A shiver, then she started crying uncontrollably. Tears fell from her pale eyes, down her cheeks and further into the darkness of her suit. She shook uncontrollably, a convulsion going through her body. She cried like she had never done, not since the death of her parents.

She cried for a long time, shaking, crying. She fell asleep, her weak body unable to stay awake. Her dreams were calm yet she felt haunted. Somewhere inside, she knew she wouldn't survive. She knew she was dying. Her body was too injured and her suit broken. If the Pirates found her they would either kill her or take her prisoner, keeping her alive for the sole purpose of experimenting on her. Death would be the better alternative...

Finally she stopped crying. She was at peace. Alone in the dark, small room, the mightiest Huntress of all time, drew her last breath.

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That concludes my first Metroid fic. I hope you enjoyed it and shed a tear in the end. I feel like saying something poetic or interresting down here, but nothing comes to mind. Well, on thing, actually. I think some of this idea spawned from a review on my brother's Metroid fic. It could be that scenario her dreams depict, though it is not bound by that, nor is this how his will eventually turn out, but it is a possible way on how his story could turn out (though I hope not). It's ID: 4283982.

That's all... *sob*


End file.
